I've shared this quote from my good buddy Terry Clark many times over the last few years.

“The best thing to do to survive and thrive is find what everyone elseisn’t doing and do that thing.”

So, what are some of the things you should be doing to make yourself stand out?​

Review your website and make sure every image you have is spectacular!

Be accessible! Use the phone, talk to your clients and respond quickly when you have an inquiry.

Look for great products to accessorize what you offer. Albums, frames, canvas prints and slide shows will separate what you offer from your competitors.

Develop fun promotional offers and theme them to the time of year, your area or relationships with other companies.

Look for opportunities to team up with other vendors in your marketing.

Get involved in your community! People like to buy products from companies they perceive as giving back!

Develop a reputation for great Customer Service!

Last but not least, don’t be afraid to work with your competitors. Having a great relationship with a couple of key competitors will often become your biggest asset in marketing and building your business!

“Bill Maher and I are on against each other, and we're friends. He can do my show any time he wants, and I've done Politically Incorrect several times. There's no reason to think competition has to be adversarial.”Jay Leno

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"Why?"

Check out"Why?" one of the most popular features on the SCU Blog.It's a very simple concept - one image, one artist and one short sound bite. Each artist shares what makes the image one of their most favorite. We're coming up on 100 artists featured since the project started. Click on the link above and you can scroll through all of the episodes to date.

Authors

Skip Cohen is President of SCU, founder of Marketing Essentials International and past president of Rangefinder Publishing and WPPI. He's been an active participant in the photographic industry since joining Hasselblad USA in 1987 as president. He has co-authored six books on photography and actively supports dozens of projects each year involving photographic education.

Scott Bourne

Scott Bourne was the first Dean of Marketing at SCU. He helped to establish this blog as a resource for aspiring and working professional photographers. He's an educator, artist, author and from time to time you'll see his name on guest posts that are always relevant to photography and marketing!